Japan downgrades view of economy after quake

Japan cut its assessment of the economy for the first time in six months after the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami and the resulting nuclear crisis, it said Wednesday.The move came after the Bank of Japan last week downgraded its view of an economy ravaged by the quake and the monster wave it unleashed, which destroyed entire towns and left more than 28,000 dead or missing.

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Japan cut its assessment of the economy for the first time in six months because of the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami and the resulting nuclear crisis, it said Wednesday.The move came after the Bank of Japan last week downgraded its view of an economy ravaged by the quake and the monster wave it unleashed, which destroyed entire towns and left more than 28,000 dead or missing.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's Wednesday cut its outlook on Japan's sovereign debt following last month's quake-tsunami disaster and warned that reconstruction costs could pass $600 billion.It said, however, that the March 11 disaster, which obliterated whole towns on the northeast coast, left 26,000 people dead or missing and triggered a nuclear crisis, would not hurt Japan's medium-term growth potential.The credit ratings agency said the cost of rebuilding could range from 20 trillion yen to 50 trillion yen ($245 billion to $612 billion).

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's Wednesday cut its outlook on Japan's sovereign debt following last month's quake-tsunami disaster and warned that reconstruction costs could pass $600 billion.It said, however, that the March 11 disaster, which obliterated whole towns on the northeast coast, left 26,000 people dead or missing and triggered a nuclear crisis, would not hurt Japan's medium-term growth potential.The credit ratings agency said the cost of rebuilding could range from 20 trillion yen to 50 trillion yen ($245 billion to $612 billion).

With Japan's public debt about to hit 240% of GDP, Fitch Downgrades Japan's Sovereign Rating
The ratings agency Fitch on Tuesday lowered its assessment of Japan’s sovereign credit to A+, an investment grade just above the likes of Spain and Italy, and criticized Tokyo for not doing more to pare down its burgeoning debt.

Japan's earthquake and tsunami disasters have cast a pall over the Shanghai auto show, where industry heavyweights are fretting over just how long the resulting supply disruptions will last.Output from Japanese manufacturers has been cut by more than 500,000 vehicles since the devastating earthquake and ensuing tsunami struck on March 11, and that number could rise to one million, auto experts said.

Raging floods in northeastern Brazil have killed at least 41 people and left as many as 1,000 missing, officials said Tuesday, while firefighters described entire towns being wiped off the map.Dramatic television pictures showed survivors scrambling to rooftops to avoid being swept away, clinging desperately to lines of rope as rescuers in helicopters rushed to pluck them from the muddy floodwaters.The death toll looked set to rise with more heavy rain forecast for Wednesday and the authorities giving estimates of the missing ranging from several hundred to 1,000.

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The Japan Meteorological Agency has lifted a tsunami warning after a powerful earthquake struck near Fukushima, Japan, at approximately 6 a.m. local time on Tuesday morning.
The US Geological Survey initially measured the earthquake at magnitude-7.3, but later downgraded it to a magnitude-6.9 earthquake.

Reuters - Japan's government on Wednesday downgraded its assessment of the economy for the first time in six months, saying it is showing weakness after a devastating earthquake and tsunami last month battered the northeast coast.